Beastkind
by VarrosGirly
Summary: Sam and Alcide are two very different beasts, as they learn upon meeting. Will the two blend or clash, and will they come to consider one another friend or foe?  Maybe over time, something else entirely.
1. Pathfinder

**Title:** Beastkind

**Type:** Slash, Uncon, Snark, Friendship, Angst

**Rating:** PG-13

**Fandom:** True Blood [ Showverse ]

**Pairing:** Alcide Herveaux/Sam Merlotte

**Setting:** Some time after Season 3 Episode 8 "Night on the Sun".

**Word Count:** 3193

**Summary:** Sam and Alcide formally meet for the first time, perhaps in the truest way; in the forms that represent their second nature. After following Alcide's scent, Sam engages with the werewolf, untrusting of his kind. Will the two blend or clash, and will they come to consider one another friend or foe? Maybe over time, something else entirely. Things can get interesting between an alpha-wolf and a beta-shifter, especially when they're both naked when they first meet.

**Warnings:** Not spiteful smut, no cheap thrills here. Rated PG-13 for use of expletive language throughout the series, and mature themes such as mention of nudity and the intended development of homoerotic interest (in this chapter). Due to episode setting, consider yourself warned of potential spoilers. This is a co-write so keep that in mind whilst reading and expect slight perspective shifts from time to time. Alcide is written by Jaxon666 and Sam by Varrosgirly.

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><p>It was one of the few days in the month when Sam left the bar in Terry's hands. Merlotte's remained standing to this day, so he had no reason to ever think twice on it. Sam had taken his usual form of a stray collie by default. That was just the one that came most naturally. Halfway through the run Sam picked up on a foreign scent, one that didn't belong in the woods so close to his home. He followed it, becoming more sure with each passing second that it was a wolf. There was only one scent, which was better. Perhaps not, but he couldn't know until he found whatever was at the end of the line.<p>

The trail grew stronger near the lake, where he found a pile of clothes on the shore. Sam stood near the water's edge until he saw a figure emerge from the surface. He shifted out of his animal form, to be polite, sitting on the wet earth beneath him.

"Hey," he called, watching the wolf, "You out here lookin' for someone?"

Sam hadn't noticed a nearby car on his offshoot from the run, so he couldn't be sure where this wolf had come from. Wherever it was, he'd originally come in his human form; but Sam was sure there weren't any wolves living in Bon Temps.

The man who now stood on two feet when once he had four was known to Alcide, though not known well. He was the owner of Merlotte's, and Alcide had been there plenty of times, appreciating the food a little more than others might have. He did not know that Sam was a shifter, but then there was no reason for him to, and such facts were better left unspoken, at least to the public at large.

Alcide himself, not keen to let others know exactly what he truly was, unless they too were his kind. Sam's shifting did not startle Alcide in any way, and he remained visibly poised as he looked the other man in the eye. Still, it was no less surprising. Perhaps though shifting from one form to another did not unnerve Alcide as much as it would another supernatural being since, after all, werewolves thrived in packs, and so were subject to witnessing transformations all of their lives. It was commonplace. Shifters though; Alcide wasn't sure whether this was friendly turf.

"I am not.", Alcide's answer was a little basic, but he did have a tendency not to take poetic license in his words. Who would he be looking for in a swamp, though?

Sam sniffed lightly at the air again, curious now as to why a wolf would be so far out here. There was something a little familiar about the smell, but that could be from any number of things. He couldn't be sure. Until he knew why this one was out here, he'd play things on the cautious side.

"Who are you then? And I'd like to ask why you're down in Bon Temps. I don't get your kind down near my property." Not even once, he could recall. Panthers, though, now that was a different story.

He'd had some run-ins with the local pack, Norris's family. As far as Sam was concerned, though, the full weres all got lumped together. Dangerous and possible enemies until they really proved otherwise. Sam was a hard one to win over on that side.

"I've been here before. Even seen you. You sayin' I'm only welcome here so long as I'm just a man?" Alcide snapped a little angrily, and it really wasn't good to make a were angry, even in human form. Their blood ran hotter than that of a shifter's, and Sam would know enough to know that.

Alcide had good reason to be angry though, with Sam judging him for his species, and not as an individual. Though he remained still, Alcide somehow started to look hotter to the touch than before, his eyes beginning to burn with a raging intent.

"Hold up now, I was just askin'." Sam raised a hand in a peaceful gesture; he didn't need a fight with an angry were today. This was one of the reasons he didn't trust this kind, they all snapped so easily. Some more than others.

"Now I ain't lookin' for trouble. I got the scent in my woods." Sam's body was less relaxed than his words would indicate, tensed if he needed to shift quickly. If he didn't watch his words, though, he would have a very pissed wolf who knew his face. Bad.

"What brought you down here before, if you've seen me 'round?" That meant this wolf had been in to Merlotte's, since he'd definitely not been in Sam's house. He wondered how he'd missed that, a werewolf in his bar.

"Your woods.", Alcide scoffed with less volume, finding the notion that a shifter could think he owned wilderness to be laughable.

It seemed like this Sam wanted to engage in friendly tongue though now, so Alcide forced his inner beast to stay down. That could change. It was easier to control himself around humans, sometimes even vampires, but when an animal faced off against another animal, it was often hard to differentiate the choices made between the man and the beast, even more difficult to have either of them make good ones.

"This here's a free country last I checked. I don't much like your questions." it might have been more polite for Alcide to mention that he sometimes works with Eric or Sookie, or even that his own work brought him through Bon Temps when travelling from Hotshot and wherever else.

But something about the way Sam addressed him didn't sit well with Alcide. He wasn't his authority. He wasn't even a were. He asked too many questions.

Sam could feel his own beast bristling, worse than it did with Tommy sometimes. Tommy was a brat, his own brother, and a pest. This guy, though...he was a very real threat, even if it hadn't been said. A branch snapped in the distance, catching Sam's attention for a moment, but it just sounded like a young deer exploring. It would run off when it caught the two scents.

"Now I never said you weren't welcome here, and I ain't arguing that it's a free country." Sam was just caught a little off-guard by a were relaxing near his home. "But I can't help but worry just a little when I find a new scent round here." Especially after the Maryanne disaster, and being used by a fellow shifter. That still got to him sometimes.

"You can understand that, right?"

"Well alright then." Alcide reckoned, still sounding a little aggressive. He figured that it was only natural for a shifter to be concerned with the presence of a wolf in the place he called home.

Wolves didn't have the best reputation, and most deserved it. So for now, Alcide would try not to become hostile, so long as Sam knew his place.

"Fine. I'm Alcide Herveaux." he held his frighteningly large hand out for a shake, although Sam was still on land. An invitation too, then?

"I'm not here to cause no trouble. So there's something for you to understand." still not fully resolved in this situation, Alcide was still talking firmly. But that was the predatory dance, letting the other animals know he was in charge. It was his involuntary nature. It couldn't be helped.

"Herveaux?" Sam stood and took a few steps into the water, far enough to extend his own hand and shake. The name was familiar to him, and not just from other two-natureds.

"Sam Merlotte. I reckon you're the one who took care of Sookie when she was lookin' for Bill." She'd had good things to say about Alcide, and the Herveaux family was known to be fair pack leaders.

"I apologize for bein' touchy with ya before, but I usually don't have reasons to trust weres." Sam wouldn't trust Alcide with his life, but he had plenty more reasons for being a little relaxed. And he could accept that the werewolf was his superior, perhaps because of what he and his family were known for.

"I am. You know her?" Alcide had seen Sam and Sookie talking at Merlotte's, from a distance, but never assumed that they were much more to one another than local familiars.

Almost as soon as Sam apologized, Alcide's body language changed quite noticeably, his heaving shoulders dropping to a more relaxed state. He even allowed himself to move now, closer to Sam, who he would suggest to come in deeper with him. It was off-putting even to Alcide, how quickly his animalistic nature could throw his mood from one thing to another. He'd learnt not to think about it too much.

"Well, not many of us give you reason to trust us." Alcide was known for his dislike of those of his kind who were wild, and allowed themselves to run riot without self control. He was above that. Then again he was so tall he was above most things.

His face even looked friendlier now, even if he still sounded like he spoke through a mouthful of gravel that was choking him. Only he wasn't choking, and the noises he made somehow managed to sound smooth.

He chuckled to himself under his breath, having took a sly sniff from the air. Sam smelt clean to him, innocent, harmless but warm. It reminded him of how a lamb smelt when he was in wolf form. Funny. But he never meant to be rude in thinking it, it just came to him in that moment. He released Sam's hand, not realising he still had hold of it, and waded backwards towards the depth of the swamp till it covered his broad shoulders.

"You the only one o'your kind around these parts Mr. Merlotte?"

"Sookie works at my bar, but she's a friend, and I like to make sure she's taken care of."

Sam walked further into the lake, the water rising to mid-chest, and he was reinforced with the idea of how large Alcide was to him, physically superior in many ways. Being closer to the were gave him a clearer scent, and he could smell the difference that this one had from others he'd encountered, briefly. As Alcide moved farther out, Sam dove under, pushing his hair back as he re-emerged. Days like this, humid and stifling, made dips in the lake particularly enjoyable. It wasn't too bad now that he had followed his curious nose here.

"Just a couple passin' through. I lived here for a long time before I met any other shifters." And of course, he didn't count those who had one form, since those were a little more common than his kind, those who could choose forms almost at will. In fact, his mother, brother were the only two living that he knew, besides himself of course.

"I don't mean to sound rude, I just wanna ask, is the pack stayin' up by Shreveport?" Sam might trust Alcide so far, but an entire pack coming down could potentially be bad. Especially considering the Hotshot clan.

"I should give y'my card. You should call me if y'have any trouble down here. And well...if you ever need a good landscaping company." the last part was said in half-jest.

It was obvious now that Sam was a decent person, more so person than animal in fact, which could cause wires to get crossed when talking to him, but probably made him less hassle to deal with, in effect.

"Don't you worry about my pack. They ain't no concern of yours, an' you know I can't tell you anyhow. You wont never get no trouble from them here, and if you do then you know who you can call." Alcide stated in a way just short of being formal.

It was at times like this that Alcide seemed almost princely in his composure, powerful and ferocious yes, but graceful too. Perhaps in the running to become a packmaster himself one day, then. He certainly demonstrated more independence than most other weres. He pondered for a second or two, how Sam did look ridiculously human to him, even with the certain rugged features of facial hair and lack of styling product. It wasn't a bad thing. He should stop judging. But then there were a lifetime's worth of lessons to ignore.

Sam was appreciative of the offer, even if he felt like he handled problems well enough on his own. He was usually hesitant to ask for help on much, even if he often answered the call for his assistance to others.

"Well thanks Alcide, it's comfortin' to know I can count the packmaster's son as an ally." Maybe a friend, but that sort of thing was far off, he felt.

He was finding this to be an interesting, case-study-like situation. Of course he was no fool, and would not assume that any other were was nearly as calm and friendly as Alcide. Sam pushed off from the deepest point where his feet met dirt, floating toward the middle of the small lake.

"I heard you work with that Northman vampire sometimes. Sookie mentioned it. I ain't ever met him face-to-face, but I know enough about him that I'm ok with that."

Alcide gave off a low yet loud grumble as Sam mentioned Eric, though clearly his anger was not directed at the shifter this time; if it were than the sound would have been justly aimed in his direction.

"Eric. Let's hope you don't have to go meeting him...or working for him." although, if it hadn't been for Eric then Alcide would never have met Sookie. He shook his head, flicking some water from his dark wet locks in the process, dismissing any further thoughts of the vampire sheriff. He was just glad that his father's debts had been paid off already.

"Don't get mixed up with him if you can help it.", he offered his advice, sounding highly invested in the idea himself as he did so.

That reaction pretty much summed up how he felt about all vampires, even Compton. The young redhead, though, Sam didn't have as much a problem with. Maybe it was because Sookie thought she had some promise, and maybe also because she was proving to be ok as a person. There was an exception to every species, as he was often reminded.

"Sookie didn't give you any trouble did she?" Sam smiled fondly, knowing how much of a handful she was when she was just waitressing. He couldn't imagine how much more of a spitfire she might be when on an actual mission of her own. If her dealing with town troubles in the past was any indication...well, it was a wonder anyone could handle her at all.

"I thought I'd never hear the end of it when she got back."

Upon Sam's question, Alcide looked to the shifter in an almost comical manner, as if to beg Sam to admit that he was joking by forming that enquiry.

"Sookie's nothing' but trouble and then some, even when you're trynna save her blonde ass from getting chewed up and spat out like a gas stop burrito. But the girl's got a good heart. She's just about worth the trouble."

Alcide offered Sam a smirk, but it was intended more as a smile absent cocky scowl. Deep down, the rugged werewolf was a kind and honourable spirit, though this was wrapped up in layers of wild, untamed predatory impulse. For those who gained his trust, this was clear to see as daylight. Perhaps Sam just caught a glimmer.

"You soft on her, shifter?"

He laughed, knowing exactly what Alcide meant. Sam wondered how long Sookie would last on her own, if she didn't have so many people looking after her, and not just two-natureds and the undead. If it were up to him, she'd never have to find out. He would always be there for her when she needed someone. And almost as if Alcide were a telepath, he guessed spot on. Maybe Sam just had a telling face.

"You can't spend time with Sookie and not have a soft spot for her," he noted, diving under briefly to wet his hair again, "But Sook...she was the first person I showed myself to in this town." Sam had a bit of a habit with not trusting easily. So far, he had about a 50% success rate when he did.

"You know her, there's just somethin' about her that you wanna keep safe. She's a special girl." Sam looked to the surrounding woods again, sniffing lightly. There was a barbeque pit somewhere, very far off. "How about we head back to my bar, I can get you a beer on the house."

"I should get gone soon. Got some work t'do later tonight, an' I don't drink on the job.", of course Alcide's phrasing was not accurate, but it made sense enough. He didn't work under the influence.

Still while a beer was out of the question, he wouldn't mind somewhere to hang his hat for a while before he headed out. He turned his back on Sam, walking towards land with a steady pace that did not change when his feet found it. He turned to speak to the shifter again, while he sorted through his clothes and got dressed, unashamed of his naked form. And who would be if they had it? The wetness of his skin was not even cold to the air. Not with his hot, red blood.

"You seem like a good man Sam Merlotte. Maybe I should get to know you." he simply said.

"Never did have a friend who shifts," he agreed, "Didn't stay anywhere long enough to start caring, till I found this town." Sam watched as Alcide left the water, noting how much more of an animal the were was than him. He even walked like a proud predator, which he clearly was. Funny, how Sam was human enough to consider his own nude state, but not worry about Alcide's.

"Well thank you, Alcide. You don't seem all that bad yourself." He smiled, nodding his head once toward the wolf respectfully.

"You're welcome to come down here any time you like then, I've got no quarrel with that." Maybe this was a good thing, possibly making a friend with a wolf. Sam's world had been turned on its head often enough that he shouldn't have been surprised by how things developed around him.

Smiles were exchanged, as well as acknowledging glances, while Alcide continued to get dressed. Upon completion he gave one last hearty smile, as if he were about to laugh, saying just one more thing to Sam.

"Next time, quit staring at my toolbox." and with a playful wink, Alcide waved Sam goodbye with one upward swing of his spread hand, and walked off to the road where he'd parked his truck.

Perhaps the two would meet again, and soon.

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><p><strong>THE END<strong>


	2. Animal

**Title:** Beastkind  
><strong>Type:<strong> Slash, Uncon, Snark, Friendship, Angst  
><strong>Rating:<strong> PG-13/R  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> True Blood [Showverse]  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Alcide Herveaux/Sam Merlotte  
><strong>Setting:<strong> Some time after Season 3 Episode 8 "Night on the Sun".  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 5316  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Alcide is passing through Bon Temps since his first unexpected meeting with Sam Merlotte, luckily for Sam, since the Hotshot were panthers have come to Merlotte's for revenge, not taking too kindly to what the shifter had dared to do to their leader Calvin Norris. Alcide fights them off and tends to Sam's unconscious body, who comes around to learn that Alcide has also made the necessary repairs to whatever was damaged during the fight at Merlotte's. The two go on to bond a little, but Sam's ways go against the grain and Alcide ends up pissed off. The chemistry is building, neither of them realise it.

**Warnings:** Not spiteful smut, no cheap thrills here. Rated PG-13/R for use of expletive language throughout the series, and mature themes such as mentions of nudity and the intended development of homoerotic interest (in this chapter) also including sexual references and descriptions. Due to episode setting, consider yourself warned of potential spoilers. This is a co-write so keep that in mind whilst reading and expect slight perspective shifts from time to time. Alcide is written by _**Jaxon666**_ and Sam by **_Varrosgirly_**. We love comments, but we don't love armchair critics. Thanks!

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><p>Sam's eyes were too heavy to open, but he felt warm water around him, and someone cleaning his face. It stung, and he growled, but couldn't move away. He felt weak. That's right, the Hotshot pack had come for him, the bar had been closed for the fair; payback for how badly he'd beaten Calvin. He blacked out again before he could see who was taking care of him now, couldn't even smell them, or he could but he was too exhausted for it to matter.<p>

He awoke clothed but still a bit weak, lying on the couch. At least he could open his eyes to look around. Sam sat up on an elbow, wincing and then laying back down. But he saw Alcide in his kitchen, speaking on the phone in his lower pitch. A memory came to him, when he was lying in the middle of three of those inbred hicks beating him, Alcide had come in just before he lost consciousness. Well now he definitely owed the guy.

Sam pushed himself up, groaning as his skin stretched around his wounds, clenching his jaw and trying to move past the pain. He had a bar to run, after all. What time was it anyway? A beer was pushed into his hand as an answer to his silent question, and he looked between it and Alcide with a raised brow.

"What's this for?" He felt a little foggy.

Alcide was frozen between expression and non-expression for a few long moments; wasn't it obvious? For men, beer was the answer to most things, wasn't it?

"Yer a man. Reckon you deserve it after the ass-whoopin' y'took. That an' more after it." Did Sam really prefer pain pills? Alcide prevented himself from grunting at that thought.

A two-natured who carried a mostly human spirit was quite an oddity for him to deal with, frustrating even. Almost like he wanted to teach Sam a better way to be. He sat down opposite Sam, keeping his distance for now but still seeming so comfortable in a home he wasn't invited to that it felt like he was right next to him. Of course, his remarkable size did something to close in the distance kept between them, too.

Almost shaking his head at Sam's sensitive response to the injuries he'd received, Alcide tried not to look at him in a judgmental manner. He did however realise that they were both two very different kinds of animal. To him, those wounds weren't far from being superficial; he'd done a days work with worse. Not Sam's fault though. He was who he was without a choice in the matter.

"You'll heal up just fine." the rugged werewolf stated, a particular certainty in his gruff voice demanding no room for doubt.

The shifter didn't feel like he'd heal up very well, but he knew that it was just a matter of days, possibly less. Still, Sam hadn't been beaten like that before, except for the time with Maryann, and he'd had to drink vampire blood just to live through that.

"Thanks," he muttered, taking a very long drink of beer. It did make him feel better, if only just for the familiarity the beverage brought him.

"I need to call my waitresses, I don't even know what the bar looks like," he held the cool bottle to his forehead. It would have to be closed if he couldn't get someone to cover for him. He was starting to feel better, as if being awake was helping his system heal at a faster rate, though compared to humans, it was already fast.

"I appreciate what ya did. I'd be damn near dead if you hadn't shown up."

Alcide was a little uncomfortable accepting Sam's thanks, so he did so with a downward tilt of his head, and no words at all.

"It's already night. I took care of it." A man of few words, which could trouble those who preferred detail, especially in matters like these.

It might have been better to explain to Sam that Merlotte's had been closed for today, the staff called way in advance of coming in to work, and repairs to damages made in the bar last night, tended to.

"You'll be on yer feet again tomorrow. For now, you just enjoy what's left of yer day off."

"I slept a whole day?" Sam was alarmed by that, wondering just how bad he'd been that his body had shut down for so long.

Though he spoke in a casually friendly tone, there was still something about Alcide that assumed authority. He didn't so much make a suggestion, as insist a course of action. Every time he spoke he seemed to grunt in between sentences. It was uncertain whether this was a natural affectation, or whether he was annoyed.

"Dinner's in the oven. An' I cleaned what was left of yer clothes." he revealed, unashamed of it and not thinking the tasks of cooking and cleaning to be womanly, which might have come as a surprise. Alcide may have been born with too many manly genes for one body to contain, but he wasn't in truth a machismo asshole. The wolfiness just made it seem that way.

Alcide must have been the one who was washing him before. He barely recalled that, either. But the werewolf had been doing more than he realized, it seemed. Sam didn't even know how to start showing his gratitude.

"And made me a dinner?" Well there was just another thing to add to Sam's growing list of reasons to really like Alcide.

It was too bad about his clothes, though. They had to have been absolutely wrecked. Which reminded him, "I just wanna check out the bar real quick. I don't think it was in too good a state last night." The panthers had thrown bricks through the windows before coming in, and he recalled a number of chairs, tables, maybe even part of the bar, being ripped into and used as weapons. He'd resorted to the same method once he realized how serious they were on their revenge.

"I guess I help people when...they need it." Alcide found himself obliged to explain away any falsely assumed reasons for his natural proclivity towards being a good Samaritan.

He did only come to the aid of others if he found them deserving; those with a good heart and good intentions. Sam seemed to be such a man. It made sense that he and Sookie were friends. Hopefully not everyone in Bon Temps followed suit, otherwise the place would be the death of Alcide. Contrary to popularly displayed dishevelled response when the matter arose, Alcide liked being a wolf, and alive.

He nodded at Sam, not about to handle him with kid gloves and insist he rest more before walking about. It wasn't like he'd lost a limb. He wasn't a child. He'd been beaten up but that was no big deal. It wasn't the way of a wolf, least of all one who had never been outcast from the pack, to nurture weakness in others.

"You want I come with, or you good on yer own?" he asked, looking indifferent about everything, including the narrow probability that a piano could fall from the sky and land on his head.

Sam shrugged, standing in place for a moment after he rose from his seat.

"I think I'll be fine," he said, walking for the door. He was a little stiff, but he could move. Nothing missing, nothing broken, maybe a couple fractures, but not too bad. "I'll just take a couple minutes." It was good that he lived just beside the bar, made things easier for him all around.

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><p>When he made his way into the bar, Sam wondered for a moment if he remembered the events wrong. Nothing was broken, out of place, or even within a hint of it. But then he got the scents: multiple people had been in here today. The strongest scent belonged to a wolf. The one who now sat in his trailer, as a matter of fact.<p>

"Alcide," Sam was just making his way back into his house, the delicious scent of steak filling his nose. It smelled amazing. "Damn, that's real nice to come home to," he joked a little, taking a plate from his cabinets. "But I...I don't even know how to thank ya for my bar. That would've been a lot more work than I could've finished before opening."

"It wasn't nothing." so Alcide's correct use of English was as lacking as anyone else's in Bon Temps, perhaps a little better usually, but what he had meant came across all the same.

"You good now? I can get outta your hair." Alcide changed position and looked alert as he sat up, eyeing the belongings of his that he could see and paying mind to where his other laid down possessions were, in advance of collecting them and taking off. He did have a life to get back to, not that it wasn't one he had complete say in. He didn't even follow the orders of his packmaster indefinitely. He stood up and started to take a few calmly paced strides towards the door.

Sam sat at the table with his plate, watching Alcide with a difficult expression. On the one hand, he did like his privacy, especially when he was vulnerable or going through something very personal. On the other, Alcide had been very helpful, beyond what he could have been expected to do.

He knew Alcide was a lot like him in that he helped people who needed it, for some inexplicable reason. He didn't know why he'd go to such a length for him; almost as good as a stranger, and a shifter no less, which surely had something to do with how the world looked for a were.

"You can stay a while if you want. I mean, if ya have stuff to get back to, I don't wanna keep ya from it." He didn't want to seem ungrateful, but he didn't want to seem needy. Sam was far from either, actually. Wasn't he?

"Hey uh, can I ask what happened after ya came in?" He barely remembered the moment when the wolf had arrived, let alone anything that followed.

Stopping dead in his tracks to listen to all of what Sam had to say, Alcide grunted more loudly than usual. The animal within often rose to the surface without Alcide's will or permission, and for others around him at the time, it could cause some confusion. It made Alcide seem far more aggressive and antisocial than he was. He calmed his thoughts and stared at Sam for a while, in consideration.

"They'd already been fightin' before I got here. Yer lucky I called by and broke it up. Looks like they were out for more than blood." disgust was riddled throughout Alcide's features and words as he spoke of the werepanthers he'd had to deal with last night.

They were mannerless, filthy creatures, little more than rabid mongrels really, perhaps in most ways much less. He didn't consider them part of his kind at all, nor part of the food chain; who would even eat them? Nasty, weak and desperate creatures. Cowards. He also didn't approve of the unfair aspect of one man being attacked by a group of men. More honourable to fight fairly, one-on-one, like a real man should.

"They won't be back botherin' you. Panthers ain't too sharp but they know enough to know not to shit where a wolf does his eatin'." Alcide reassured Sam, in case he was concerned of a repeat attack. "You need me t'stay?"

Sam had been worried about the Hotshot gang coming back, they were druggies and violent simpletons, at that. The fact that he'd now been completely reliant on a were for the past 24 hours or so did not sit as badly with him as it would have once upon a time.

"I don't want ya to think that I'm helpless or nothin'." Sam took a bite of his steak, grinning at the taste of it. Alcide was a great cook, on top of handyman and rescuer. And now he couldn't help but feel a little helpless, but that was just how things were between their species, even if they were similar in general ability.

"But I wouldn't mind the company. Not sayin' you have to." Sam wasn't sure if he was breaching some protocol or anything, but he liked the guy, and it didn't hurt to feel as safe around him as he did right now. Alcide was a nice person, and slowly changing the shifter's mind on weres, if just a little.

Alcide shrugged, thinking that compared to him and with everything that had gone on in the last day or so, Sam was helpless. Still, he wasn't here to emasculate the friendly eatery owner, so there was no point arguing those points, especially since it was obvious Sam was not as thick-skinned as Alcide's pack-mates. It wouldn't just roll off his back. He was slightly annoyed. Usually when Alcide spoke to one of his kind and asked them a question, he got an answer. One that was not indirect. Yes or no. Sam didn't get that yet, he'd been pretending he was human too long to know how things went.

"Don't gotta do nothin'." but that wasn't the point. "Guess I'll head out. See you 'round Sam. Call me if y'need anythin'." and with that, Alcide turned and started making way towards the door once again.

"Can ya stay?" Sam looked uncomfortable asking outright. He never asked, people always assumed, or asked him, or he just let them be.

"You've done a lot for me, and I ain't really done anything back." Partly because he'd been unconscious the majority of the time. "You want another beer?" Sam stood, going for the fridge. He'd finished his own beer and was keen for another.

Alcide stopped at the door and grunted again, before dropping his stuff to the floor. Seconds later he returned with a beer that he'd helped himself to, as well as another one for Sam, overtaking him. That was his only way of responding to Sam's request, socially. The huge werewolf than sat on the long sofa, nearer to Sam's seat, his remarkable weight causing him to sink into it instantly, a moody expression filling his face. He removed the caps of both beer bottles with the palms of his hands, no need for a bottle opener.

Sam needed to learn how to interact with two-natureds better, especially the pack kind.

"Thanks," he reached for the beer, leaning back in his seat and relaxing.

"I know we're kinda from different species and all, but if you wanna come down for a beer or somethin' sometime, that'd be alright." Sam smiled awkwardly, unsure if it was Alcide's wolf or alpha status made him see things differently.

"Okay." Alcide remarked, rather than an upbeat thank you.

Even for a graceful wolf, it was not in Alcide's first nature to make good with the warm and fuzzy sort of friendship pleasantries Sam offered at present. He looked over Sam as he finished his plate, thinking that it was only right that the shifter enjoyed his well-cooked meal. From reading his slightly timid body language, Sam was still concerned for his injuries, thinking that maybe some were more serious than the eye could see.

"You ain't broke nothin'. Yer tougher than you look." and Alcide had checked; a perfect reflection of his particular kind of species and honed skill set, that he knew how to.

He nodded, pushing his empty plate away.

"What were you doin' down here in the first place?" Sam could have understood a visit to Sookie; she might have been getting into her own trouble. But why Alcide had come to the bar?

"I'm not sayin' I ain't glad you came in when ya did." He took another drink, letting out his own grunt, still feeling the various dull aches around his body.

"I go where I want. Ain't always a reason." Alcide had heard Sam's questioning before, in relation to why he was where he was, and he liked it just as much then as he did now, even if he knew there was no harm meant by the question.

Alcide's head retracted and he gave a look of troubled curiosity as he tried to fathom what Sam had meant in asking if he was alright. Then he figured, almost smirking at his realisation, although smirks weren't usually this warm were they? He raised his hands and turned them in and out again, looking at them.

"You're alright?" Sam didn't doubt that Alcide could hold his own against the panthers, but he couldn't have come out completely unscathed. The shifter noticed some scratches on the wolf's hands, pointing them out.

"These here are work related. Ain't no panther ever hurt me. You don't need to worry none about that.", Alcide confidently stated, glugging back half his beer in one go, not even a little exasperated afterwards, Adam's apple pumping back and forth as he drank the chilled golden ale.

In this moment, Sam couldn't help feeling completely human. Alcide was all animal, save for his current form. It made him feel inadequate as a two-natured being, like he was going about things in the worst possible ways.

"Can't say the same," he smiled, resting his arms on the table, "But they didn't attack at random or anythin'." He sighed, twisting the beer bottle on the plain surface, watching the liquid slosh around inside.

"I lost my temper at Calvin Norris, hurt him pretty bad. I dunno how they got him out to the hospital in time, but he was okay after that." Of course Sam didn't know that Lafayette had force fed vampire blood to the panther leader so he would survive. He would have been a little more understanding, maybe, despite his own life-saving encounter with vampire blood.

"Probably had it comin'." Alcide replied, without kind sentiment.

"It's done now anyway." and by that he meant there'd be no further consequence on either side. Fair enough; it sounded like there'd been an ass beating both ways now, but even if the panthers did still feel raw about it, there was no way they would risk warfare with weres. Not only were weres at the top of the food chain individually, but they were more loyal to their pack-mates, and more strategic in their conduct. Other two natureds steered well clear of trouble with them. Funny how in the strictly animal kingdom, wolves were barely considered competitors amongst the leading predators.

"Temper aint gonna go away while you keep pretendin' yer one o' them.", Alcide offered his advice, and considering where it came from, he might be the best to give it. Then again he might be the worst.

"It's how I learned to survive in the world," Merlotte shrugged, looking at nothing in particular, "I didn't get a pack." Sam truly did feel pathetic in that moment. An orphaned shifter, one who could hardly take care of himself unless it was with humans. "And I only lose my temper when I ain't thinkin...or when I'm drunk."

He drank when he was angry, was it possible he did that so he could release and not feel guilty later on for what he did? That couldn't be it; he usually felt the guilt after his drunken hazes ended.

"But you're right...I been actin' like I'm human for a long time. Only time I even feel like I'm what I am's when I'm runnin'."

"You need you a woman." and that much was obvious Alcide thought, but aside from being half-serious in his manly criticism, it was actually more important than one might think for a two-natured to have a mate. It kept them tethered, gave them a release. He wasn't sure about shifters, but werewolves fucked in a way that made bunnies seem lacklustre.

"Wouldn't hurt if you went on more runs...or mixed with more o' yer type. You can come with me when I'm 'round these parts, I guess. If you want." once again, Alcide found himself playing caterer to the hopeless, which in turn made him more hopeless than any of the lost causes he tended to, didn't it?

* * *

><p>Sam laughed, a short chuckle, and nodded once in agreement.<p>

"Had women...never worked out quite right. One of 'em was a shifter too, and that was a nice time." He'd been happiest then, until she led him straight to the bitch who'd hunted him down. And then there was Tara, but she was hardly a reasonable candidate for a mate. Sam would find one, eventually. Hopefully.

Alcide's offer made the healing shifter perk up the slightest, almost unnoticeable bit. Surely the wolf would have picked up on it.

"You sure I wouldn't be intrudin'?" Sam didn't know if packs all ran together or not. Maybe they did, but not all the time. The entire hierarchy of it was confusing.

"I'd appreciate it. I don't really have someone to run with." Well, Tommy didn't count. He'd almost gotten ran over when they tried that. And his mother...no. Never. So that left Sam alone, again, in letting out his wilder side, not much more than once a month, besides when he needed to check up on someone or help out.

"Hell man, you seen me naked as the day I been born first time we spoke proper. Think we're passed intrudin'." one of Alcide's lighter, more humorous moments, and rare at that.

Nudity didn't generally bother Alcide, least of all around other men or others of his kind, but he knew enough to know that Sam would find humour in what he just said. There was after all, a portion of humanity within Alcide himself, however overshadowed.

"Maybe I can teach you a thing or two. That kid brother o' yours...he needs a different kinda teachin'." and by that Alcide meant that he was only a few more brief meetings away from kicking the little shit's ass, so Sam could consider that a warning. Alcide was much more of an actions kind of guy, rather than words. Few of them often understated the actions to come. People learnt that quickly.

"Ain't a lesson worth teachin' that Tommy'll listen to." Sam thought Alcide must have had to speak with him during the day, so who knew what had been said or how long the wolf had put up with the boy.

He sniffed at the air all of a sudden, breaking away from conversation without warning.

"Wounds need redressin' soon." yep, the towering werewolf could smell that. Maybe Sam really could learn a thing or two from him, but then that was never really in question.

Sam felt more at ease, to the point of holding a smile, with Alcide speaking in ways he could see into, in some way. Fair enough, Sam would take up the offer the next time the opportunity was presented.

He glanced down at himself, lifting his shirt to look at the gauze and wrap covering his injuries. They did look a little stale.

"Thanks, I'll get on that in a few minutes I guess." He couldn't really ask or expect more from Alcide. And now that Sam really focused on the scent of the air, he could sort of notice the difference, a kind of sickly, tart scent. He'd been so humanized that he was ignoring basic senses now. "You're right, there are some things I need to learn. Or just remember."

It amused Alcide that Sam didn't realize how much he had to learn, in terms of his second nature. It was so obvious to one such as the werewolf, who had been raised to embrace and master it, that the shifter was barely attuned to the beast within him at all, aside from giving it physical forms. That was one small part of being the kind of thing that they were.

"I'm gonna regret this, ain't I?" he sort of joked, glancing at Sam Merlotte from the corner of his eyes, head turned away for scathing effect.

"Maybe in time I can introduce you to some of our women. Right now, you'd stick out like a 'tard with a helmet." of course no offence was meant, and that much with Alcide was always clear when in effect. He was simply unable to water down the truth, and if he was to introduce Sam to his pack-mates, or even other two natureds he knew, they would see the shifter as somewhat of a lame beast, a retardation of both natures, not good enough in either one, just from assessing his disposition and physical behaviour. Life was hard enough as it was, being accepted by weres as a shifter.

"Well I'd hate to be an embarrassment. I'll try not to drool on myself if the time ever comes." Sam smirked, tipping the bottle to his mouth, and he noted how it was tasting better with each sip.

"Drink up. What are you, a youngin?", no sympathy for Sam's wounds then. Unethically manly belief that a good alcohol binge cured all that could ail those with testicals.

The bottle was half raised to Alcide in a mock toast, but Sam was amused, even by the unflattering truth. Sookie, and definitely Jason, saw him as something beyond human, but they had no clue how it was to the rest of the world.

He may have been in extreme pain last night, and even earlier today, not that he remembered, but he was feeling pretty good. Not nearly good enough to go on a run later tonight, but he could move about as he needed.

"I wanna thank you again. I know I did already, but you just helped me out, a lot."

"Already did, Merlotte. Drop it." Alcide visibly tensed for a second, when Sam made with the warm and fuzzies again. Hopefully that would stop soon, because Alcide couldn't bear it. One thanks was almost too many. Two made Alcide feel like he was growing a vagina.

As soon as Sam was done eating, Alcide stormed over to him and grabbed his plate, taking it to the kitchen and bringing out more beers in what seemed like record time. He went to pass Sam his fresh bottle but then smiled and paused, realising that the shifter's hands weren't nearly as large or firm as his, opening the cap for him and offering the bottle a second time, no matter that Sam's previous one was unfinished.

"You wanna pay me back for what I done? Be good to Sookie. And stop takin' shit from people, family included. And wouldn't hurt if you kept me in mind for any work you need doin'." Alcide broke the ice again with a blend of seriousness and comedy, a secret weapon he whipped out once in a while, and yet ironically by his expression it seemed that he didn't personally find himself humorous.

"I'll keep it in mind. Thought about puttin' a waterfall garden in the back," but Sam's face read sarcasm, clearly.

"When's the last time you even done got yourself fucked, Merlotte? All I can smell in this place is teenage hormones an' a whole lotta sex B.O. that sure ain't yours...on account that you know what soap is." it sounded like Alcide didn't approve of the puritan lifestyle.

Normally, Sam would have stopped at two beers, but he was not doing anything worth keeping stone cold sober over, so he didn't care. Alcide treating him like a complete weakling, though, that made him bristle just a bit. He could open his own beers, but he said nothing. It could just be a wolf thing.

"Well damn. Funny, Tommy's the only other one askin' me that kinda question." Sam finished off his beer, sliding the empty bottle across the table before starting on the new one.

"It's been a while. I quit hookin' up with women I don't know a long time ago." He needed to talk to Tommy about bringing girls here, obviously. Sam thought they were past that, but the kid just didn't listen.

Like a hawk and not a wolf, Alcide noticed a bitter look fleet from Sam's eyes for an almost immeasurable amount of time, though it might as well have been spotlighted and lasted a minute.

"You got somethin' you need t'say to me, Merlotte?" he asked firmly, with a bold gaze, eyelids clutching at his eyeballs like the claws of a lion to fresh meat.

"We aint exactly the same you an' I, but I'm pretty sure y'need it just the same. Fuckin'. Even if y'don't feel like yer want it." briefly, Alcide found his hand placed around his own package, and removed it with subtle motion and no sign of panic.

"The humans got their bi-polar. We got blueballs." he informed.

"I just-" Sam sighed and shrugged, "-I can open a damn beer bottle on my own. I know I ain't as fast at healing as you, but I ain't a child." Sam's eyes were drawn to Alcide's hand, just as briefly, but his own motions were much less smooth. He'd just gotten over the dreams about Bill and wasn't sure how to handle it.

"So I lose my temper cause I don't get laid." He took another long drink from his bottle, wondering just how Tommy fit into that. Maybe he was just a little fucker who didn't do anything conventionally.

If Sam hadn't have been so injured and pathetic, Alcide may have just found himself giving him a slight of physical warning himself right then. Letting his deep growl stew over and run its course this time, Alcide stared the shifter out whilst waiting to calm. Fortunately Sam did nothing to provoke him further.

"Yer just a kid Merlotte. Yer age as a man don't match what else y'are." Alcide snarled, still pissed off that a shifter had dared to get cross with him over a beer bottle cap.

That really wasn't his speed at all. He fought over women, or to establish dominance. Getting his fuse short over a superior animal helping him in a time of need? Sure he might not love being vulnerable himself, or humbled, but if he somehow got so mad at a situation like that, that he had to do something about it, he'd be duking it out, not making prissy remarks.

"I'm'a git goin' now. You watch yourself Sam Merlotte, an' I'll be seein' you soon." it was probably best that Alcide leave anyway, before he got unnecessarily angry at his new shifter friend, and made a foe out of him.

Sam had noted the change in the air, the change in Alcide's posture, before he realized why they had happened. When the reason was brought out, though, he was fully reminded that they were two very different creatures, raised in two very different ways. If he was going to be learning, running, and drinking with Alcide, then he was going to have to get used to how things went around a wolf.

He nodded to Alcide once before the wolf left and polished off his beers. Sam went to the bathroom to change his wrappings, groaning more out of instinct than actual pain as he removed the sticky, tarred bindings. After, he stared at himself for a good long while in the mirror, seeing only a human form and the man who wore it. This had to change. He slid into his bed, determined to renew the Sam Merlotte everyone had come to know. It couldn't hurt, when the Sam Merlotte he'd become kept running into so many problems, right?

* * *

><p><strong>THE END<strong>


End file.
